D378 I Survived the Christmas Potluck Party at my Job

By Starlene on Saturday, December 18th, 2010

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Sometimes it is surreal how easy it has become to avoid the foods I am not supposed to eat. Yesterday was our staff potluck party at my job. As usual, there was a lot of junk food and other items that I am not allowed to eat on GAPS. Actually sometimes I think we're stuck in the 50s at my job. Which is not a bad thing necessarily, but when it comes to food, meaning the food I'm not allowed to eat, it's not such a good thing.

I knew in order to have something to eat, I would need to bring my own food. The only thing that I could eat that was bought by someone else was some plain green leaf lettuce. Alongside the lettuce, there were several bottles of salad dressing, of course none that I could eat. It was actually nice that someone brought the lettuce, because I was able to add it to the chili that I brought.

One of my coworkers loves food that is extremely spicy. I told my boss that I would bring chili to the potluck. Tuesday night before the potluck, I had a brainstorm, and decided I would make two versions. One mild, and one extra spicy. I based my spicy recipe on the version I found on the Internet called Walt's Insolent Chili. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but it did use the amount of cayenne called for, which was 1 tablespoon. My coworker rated the chili on the hotness factor a 6 1/2 on a scale of one to ten.

When I was growing up I lived in South Phoenix. As a Caucasian I was in the minority. There were a lot of Hispanics and African Americans (sorry I don't know the current politically correct term to use). One of my best friends was black. She loved my long straight hair and was always braiding it. Anyway, the black girls called us white girls, “white patties”. So I told another coworker not to worry, I was making a “white patty” version of chili.

I also brought my Avocado Mayo Dressing (no eggs [affiliate link] version), and zinged up with Italian Seasoning which I let my boss tried a couple of weeks ago. She really loved it so I thought there would be a vegetable tray that I could use to dip. I also brought a fruit platter with whipped cream which had been sweetened with honey [affiliate link] and flavored with vanilla [affiliate link] extract. The whipped cream was not touched. It was disturbed at all. My boss was the only one that tried the Avocado Mayo Dressing. She actually begged me to take home the leftovers, and asked for the recipe.

Usually I'm one of the first people in line to get my plate. This time, I was one of the last. I'm not sure why, it just turned out that way. I suppose part of the reason is due to the fact that I knew I wouldn't be able to eat most of the food.

It's still weird to me, that it has become so easy to avoid the foods that I'm not eating. I'm very grateful for that. Some people think I have really great willpower. It's not about willpower. It's about being nourished properly. When the foods we eat satisfy us, it's easy to avoid the foods that are known to cause problems.

My hands continue to bother me, so I've decided to break down and try Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home, Version 11 again. The first time I tried to use it was about 10 years ago when I first started my job. Supposedly it is much more reliable now. I have composed this entire post using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It is cumbersome, mostly in that I realize what I'm talking and typing my thoughts come out differently.

I'm trying to work up my nerve to see a physician or at least a chiropractor, about my hands and my wrists. I actually called my insurance company and had my doctor switched. That is a big first step for me since I hate going to the doctor so much. I'm afraid that I am going to have to find a way to give my hands, fingers and wrists a rest and time away from the computer. I'm hoping using Dragon to do some of the typing will help. I still have to wash dishes, chop vegetables, open doors, pull on my clothes, fasten my bra, button my jeans, steer my car, and other things that seem to put a strain on my hands and wrist. I'm still just very disappointed that I'm having a problem at all.

Well, I had better go for now. It will soon be time to milk and I haven't even done one thing in the house today. I actually didn't get enough sleep last night, and went back to bed for several hours this morning.

Now the next party I have to get through is the one at my mother-in-law's. I understand my MIL is doing the Atkins Diet, which is similar to GAPS, but only in that they are avoiding carbohydrates. So I will probably have to bring my own food to that one, too. She did say she will make a turkey along with the ham. As long as she has plain salad, plain vegetables, and plain fruit, I should be okay.

I'll keep you posted.

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2 comments to D378 I Survived the Christmas Potluck Party at my Job

Starlene, I completely agree on how easy it is to avoid food that isn’t nourishing. I used to have absolutely no willpower with not eating that stuff. Especially when it was “free.” Now I don’t need willpower. I just don’t want it. I much prefer my food! And my health.